AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings)

Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) is the figure the Social Security Administration uses to summarize your lifetime earnings before calculating your benefit. SSA takes your yearly covered earnings, indexes them to account for growth in national average wages, selects your highest-earning years, and divides the total by the number of months in those years.

For disability claims, the number of years counted is generally smaller than for retirement because SSA drops some low or zero years based on your age at onset. Your AIME is then run through a formula with percentage brackets, called bend points, to produce your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which sets your monthly SSDI payment. Higher lifetime earnings generally mean a higher AIME and a larger benefit.